COVID19 has had a dramatic impact on how charities are collecting donations. Presenting serious challenges, but also affording charities excellent opportunities to grow their online offering and develop a strong relationship with donors.
Studies carried out by CAF show that donations to UK charities increased by £800m, yet indications suggest that this hasn’t been driven by an increase in the number of donors. This means that the same people were giving more, and a serious driving force behind this is good digital fundraising.
Put simply, the pocket change thrown in a bucket tends to be less than the money donated by the average website visitor. Charities have often made sacrifices for convenience, assuming that higher asks with more requirements will put donors off. But the pandemic has shown that those who were satisfied with the occasional cash donation do not see the transition to an online donation via their phone to be a jarring experience. In fact, they recognise the opportunity to give a higher amount of money without donating at lower frequencies.
This opportunity for growth has been capitalised on by charities that have well developed digital offerings. Both in terms of traffic generation (paid and organic), and in terms of highly optimised donation checkout pages or online donation forms.
Having a good online donation experience begins with a strong fundraising platform and donation form that are user-friendly, and secure.
Supporters visiting and organisation's website for the first time will be much happier to donate higher amounts if their experience is a good one. That means no friction on pages, clear design and branding, strong value propositions and the preferred payment methods, including Apple Pay and credit cards.
It’s sometimes difficult to be on top of every aspect of your charity, particularly when it comes to raising funds and digital fundraising campaigns. For that reason, iRaiser is offering a free Checkout Checkup of payment pages for charities and other not-for-profit organisations in the UK and Ireland.
The payment step is often overlooked, but a key step of the donor experience. If you want a detailed guide to mastering this step, download our white paper here. It will provide you with the necessary tools to turn your payment process into a driver of conversions.
Having a seamless checkout experience is essential for increasing conversions and donations because it builds trust and fosters a positive relationship between the donor and the organization. Offering the donor a personalized and responsive approach can make them feel appreciated and valued, which can motivate them to donate more frequently and at higher amounts.
Whether you feel your charity needs a major overhaul of your donation funnel, or you just want a fresh pair of eyes to identify some quick wins, iRaiser is here to help! Our digital fundraising experts will review your checkout process and provide you with some best practices to improve your donation process. They will help your charity make the most of the sharp growth online fundraising has taken over the past year. Do you need help finding the right fundraising tools?
If you want to take advantage of our free Checkout Checkup, make sure you book your slot. Remember to include your donate page URL and some info on how visitors are finding your website. Book your meeting today!
Check out our article: Fundraising guide: finding the right donation platform for your charity.